


Play me a song

by Hectatess



Series: Gabriel Monthly Challenge Fics [6]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Denial, Familiar!Sam, First Kiss, Gabriel Monthly Challenge (Supernatural), M/M, Song Lyrics, Witch/Familiar AU, witch!gabriel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-25
Updated: 2020-01-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:28:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22408687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hectatess/pseuds/Hectatess
Summary: Gabriel ran far and hid well. He didn’t need a familiar. Familiars were bad news. He could make it on his own, he knew he could.Only thing: he was slowly losing himself after a decade of hiding.Then a cat showed up, just an ordinary cat, he thought, and with it the past came rushing to catch him.
Relationships: Gabriel/Sam Winchester, mentioned Castiel/Dean Winchester
Series: Gabriel Monthly Challenge Fics [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1714900
Comments: 26
Kudos: 129





	Play me a song

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you, Mods of the Tumblr Gabriel-Monthly-Challenge. My muse was squirming with delight at your prompts. Guess what: We used them all... again. Enjoy!

Song prompt: [‘Dig’ By Incubus](https://youtu.be/nMsZ6wkZWhA)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**2009**

Gabriel didn’t want it. He didn’t want a familiar. He knew that, as a witch, it was supposed to be best for you, for balancing your powers, honing them, and making you a better witch. But most witches also thought your familiar would be your soulmate, and that’s where Gabriel opted out. He’d seen it first hand, the way losing your familiar made you crumble and fall. His mom, Becky, had given his dad everything. Her powers, her life, her heart and soul. And yet, he ran off. Packet of cigarettes-style. Becky had gone cackling, the witches kind. Mad as a hatter, but with added unstable power. She ended up blowing up their home. So thanks, but no thanks. Gabriel would be a weaker witch, but at least a sane one. 

“But Gabe, isn’t it super unsafe, not to have a familiar?” his best buddy and secret crush, Sam Winchester, asked. Gabriel sighed. “No. Look, Sam, you know why aunt Amara raised Cassie and me. Dad was in the wind, mom in smithereens. I was nine, Cassie seven and a half. And all because dad took a permanent powder. Mom’s magic got wild, uncontrolled. And it backlashed. I’m just glad Cassie and I were at school.”

Sam ducked his head. “I guess. But what if…” Gabriel slapped his hand over Sam’s mouth. “Don’t. I got you, don’t I? You’re my best buddy. And if I do go nuts, you can get me out, I’m positive.” He rummaged around until he found his iPod. “This new song, Dig by Incubus, you play me that, and I will know I’ve changed for the worse.” He put the device on his dock and pressed play. “Remember this, ok, Samshine?” Sam’s multi-coloured eyes were wide, but he nodded. “I’ll keep you safe, Gabe. Promise.” He held out his hand and Gabriel shook it. A static spark leapt between their palms. “Ow! Geez Sammich, wear rubber soles, you life wire!” Gabriel quipped. Sam just rubbed his palm softly, eyes down, listening intently to the music.

**2019**

Gabriel took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes. He was tired. Lying alone in his self-made, gilded cage, he had trouble coming back to himself. “Ok Novak, you got this. You’re Gabriel. Not Reynard. You’ve got to be yourself.” A sound at the window made him jump. Through the golden brown net-curtain he saw the silhouette of a big cat. “Nonono… shoo kitty, begone!” he hissed, replacing the glasses and drawing back the curtain. A large Main coon or Norwegian forest cat or whatever the monster was, looked up at him with wide, spooked eyes. Gabriel bit his lip. The reddish-brown fur made him think of Sam. 

Sam, who Gabriel had shoved off once it became clear his brother Dean was a familiar. A sandy, tabby cat. How could he not be with those green eyes? Cassie had squeed like a fangirl and picked him up like a long-lost plushie. “Are you going to be my familiar, Dean?” he’d cooed at the cat, which looked incredibly smug, even for a cat. He’d meowed, jumped down and changed back to his annoyingly tall self. “If you’ll have me, buddy.” Of course that went as usual. The two lovebirds were now living happily in Lawrence, Kansas, helping the sick and poor. 

Meanwhile, Gabriel had used his talent for shifting personalities to get wealthy, and now he lived in a big house near Carmel. Alone. The house had gilded accents everywhere, on the walls, the ceiling, even the frikken doors. Heck, the whole place looked like a wedding cake on the inside. It was actually not how Gabriel would have chosen to live, so it was safe from those who looked for him. The cat meowed again, a warm, rich sound, and Gabriel sighed, before opening the window. “Are you a familiar? Cause if you are, I don’t need you.” The cat blinked its eyes slowly. Didn’t that mean it trusted you? But if it was a familiar… 

With a sigh, Gabriel decided to take the litmus test. If he did magic, and the cat was a familiar, it would feel different. He opened the window wider and beckoned the cat. It sat down, bushy tail swishing slowly. “C’mon, silly thing. I need you inside for this.” After a yawn and with its head regally held high, the cat observed him. They locked eyes for a long time, until the cat, unblinking, stood and strutted towards Gabriel. It threw him a disdainful look as it passed him and hopped to the marble floor. Gabriel took a steadying breath. Here went nothing. He focused on the light and turned it off with his power. The cat huffed in surprise, but for Gabriel nothing was unexpected or different. “Huh. Guess you really are just a cat. And such a pretty one.” The cat meowed and trotted over to him, butting it’s head against his legs. “Guess I’ll be putting up ‘found’ posters today,” Gabriel quipped. The cat blinked and in some lightning-quick, special cat-move it suddenly climbed him and ended up perched on his shoulder. “Geez, you’re heavy!” Gabriel laughed, but also found the affectionate head butts to his hair very endearing. He’d better watch out or he’d get attached.

Nobody came for the cat, nor did any ‘lost’ posters turn up. So, the cat stayed. It would sit in on Gabriel’s meetings as Reynard, a disdainful look on its face, and as soon as they were alone, it would bump its snout against Gabriel to get picked up and the moment it was in reach, it would deftly swipe the thick rimmed glasses off Gabriel’s nose. “Silly cat,” Gabriel would chide, before magicking the glasses to their usual spot and shift back to his usual, clean shaven self. 

Slowly the cat became a pet. “Guess I should name you, huh?” Gabriel said one fall evening, as they sat in front of the fire. The cat looked him straight in the eyes, little sunbursts of light brown around its pupils, against a backdrop of aqua blue. Gabriel sighed. “Geez, you keep reminding me of Sam… maybe you should be Sir Samuel.” The cat gave him a regal look that could mean anything. Gabriel laughed and smooched the soft head. Sir Samuel purred and pushed his head up against Gabriel’s nose. “Yeah, Yeah… I love you too.” Sir Samuel gave an oddly high chirp and curled himself around Gabriel’s jawline and neck. Gabriel’s heart warmed and he noticed a sappy smile on his reflection in a glass cabinet. “I’m screwed,” he murmured into the soft fur. 

That night he dreamt of Sam. Of his warm voice, his gentle hands and his kaleidoscope eyes. “Oh Gabe, what have you become, my love?” Gabriel could feel Sam’s warm hand on his chest, the other in his hair. “Sammy…” he breathed, soft, longingly. He looked up into those sunflower eyes, but there was something wrong… where was the white? “Sam?” Sam’s breath was on his lips… “Mowwwrr?” Gabriel blinked. Morning light illuminated the bedroom and Sir Samuel stood on Gabriel’s chest, his nose to Gabriel’s and his whiskers tickling Gabriel’s cheeks. “Oh, Sir Samuel…” Gabriel chuckled. “Did I worry you, silly kitty? I’m sorry.” The cat rubbed his head against Gabriel and left the room, tail aloft, tip in a neat curl. Gabriel got dressed with a smile. 

“Gabe… you’re not yourself…” Sam was back, his hands warm on Gabriel’s cheeks, his beautiful eyes filled with worry. “Of course I am!” Gabriel scoffed. “Why wouldn’t I be?” Sam lowered his eyes. “You’re not. I see it every day, love. You’re hollow. Incomplete. You need me.” Gabriel wanted to object that he damn well needed no-one and tried to sit up, promptly toppling Sir Samuel to the ground. “Oh no! I’m sorry, Samuel! Can you forgive me?” The cat glared at him and turned to sit with his back to Gabriel, nose in the air. Gabriel sat down on the floor and stroked the soft fur lovingly. “I really am sorry, Samuel… I was dreaming of your namesake, Sam, and… well, I guess it was too vivid. I miss him…” Gabriel sighed. “He was my best friend. And my first crush.” He petted absentmindedly, lost in the past. “And I pushed him away… But I had to, Samuel. If he was my familiar… I was scared, Samuel. He could have broken my heart, and then I would have gone mad. I know I would have. I loved him so dearly…” Sir Samuel turned around and crawled all over Gabriel, as if he could feel his owner needed it.

oooOooo

Sam was worried, worried sick. He’d known from the moment they had shook hands, ten years ago, that Gabe was his witch. But Gabe had been adamant that he didn’t need a familiar. So, Sam had resolved himself to be his best friend and surreptitiously aid his magick. Until Dean had shifted unexpectedly, while they were playing Cards against Humanity at the Novak home. Cas had instantly laid his claim, and Dean had easily accepted it. It had been clear from the day they met, that this would be the outcome. At least to Sam, who knew that the Winchesters were prone to being familiars and the Novaks usually turned out being witches. 

Gabe, however, hadn’t known any of this. Since their mom had blown herself up, he had stubbornly refused to look into Witch/Familiar lore. So he didn’t know that their two families often ended up bonded. And Dean’s shift spooked the tiny guy severely. He’d refused to visit Sam and Dean anymore, avoided them at school and soon faded out of their lives by moving away. Sam had tried to forget him. He went to Stanford, learning to be a lawyer, but as soon as he’d crossed into California, he’d felt a pull. A very familiar one at that. He’d ignored it, but after graduation, he gave in and traveled the state to where his heart insisted Gabe was. There he spent half a year looking at names, checking phone registers asking questions. 

But while his heart said Gabe was there, close even, his search came up empty. He spent Christmas at Dean and Cas’ place, watching the two idiots in love with an aching heart. When New Year came, Dean and Cas magicked an amazing fireworks display for the whole town, and Sam could see their magickal cooperation had grown and evolved to enormous heights, as had their happiness. It was at that moment the resolution that he needed to make became clear. So, once he was back in Cali, he said goodbye to his human form for a while and let his instincts guide him. He’d wandered the woods and hills, sneaking food from houses, or using his limited powers to make some. When he was looking for food at a house that looked like a rich widow lived there, he suddenly felt a spark. It was familiar, it was warm and inviting, and yet it was spluttering like a dying candle. Alarmed, Sam jumped to the balcony, then up to where that spark was trying to ignite. 

When the golden brown curtains were shoved aside, Sam didn’t recognise the face under the scruffy beard and the thick rimmed glasses. The window opened and Sam took the guy in. There was something… calming about him. “Are you a familiar? Cause if you are, I don’t need you.” That sounded vaguely like Gabriel. Sam blinked at the man, who would definitely say such a thing if he was Gabe. The window opened wider and the man crooked a finger at him. He did have he same golden eyes as Gabe had. Sam feigned disinterest and sat down. 

The man called him silly, making Sam sit even more tight. Searching those golden eyes, Sam’s heart raced. They were so much like Gabriel’s! Sam acted like he was doing the guy a favour by entering his house, but inside his guts were churning with anticipation. The magick the man used was as familiar as Sam’s own reflection. This definitely was Gabriel! He automatically dampened his contribution to the magick, shielding it from Gabe like he used to do at home. It worked, because Gabe commented how Sam was ‘really just a cat’ and how he would put up posters to find Sam’s non-existing owner. Sam made a quick decision and dashed up Gabe’s body to perch on his shoulders, like Dean so often did with Cas, and Gabe chuckled. Sam butted his head against the caramel locks, revelling in the knowledge that he had managed to help Gabe shift back to his own, more slender form without the scruff or the glasses, and Gabe was completely unaware.

Sam sat in on yet another meeting Gabe was having as his alter-ego, Reynard. Reynard was blockier, rougher and Sam didn’t like him. He was everything his Gabe wasn’t. Uncaring, harsh and only out to get the biggest gain. The house was opulent as it was and Sam doubted Gabe would need to gain any more wealth, but here Reynard was, trying to do just that. Gabe showed the unsavoury characters he had been talking to, out and sighed. He looked tired and unhappy. Sam did his usual routine of getting those damned glasses off and aiding Gabe in becoming himself again. 

Gabe carried him to the bathroom and started a bath. “I’m drained… Maybe I should add a little something to pick me up,” Gabe mused as he ran his hand through the water. It swirled and rippled and an extra colour appeared in the eddies Gabe was making. For Sam, dampening his reaction and influence on Gabriel’s magick was second nature, by now. He stared intently at the water, seeing the colour solidify and crumble. Gabe chuckled and caught some of the flakes in his hand. He looked like a prospector checking his sieve, the way the gold tumbled through his fingers. “Meh… it’s pretty and all, but I see goddamn gold around me all the time.” He snapped his fingers and the bath water was clean once more. Sam pretended to lick his hind leg to hide his amused expression. There was hope still. 

Sir Samuel… of all the names Gabriel could have thought up! Sam was both endeared and pissed off. He didn’t want to be Samuel. Samuel was his grandfather and that prick had been nothing but rude to them, until the day he died. On the other hand, Gabriel admitted that he missed Sam. And he kissed him. Oh gods on high, Gabriel kissed him! On his head, while thinking he was a regular Norwegian forest cat, but still… The pressure of those sweet lips… Sam couldn’t stop himself. He shifted back to his human self and leaned over Gabe’s sleeping form. He cupped his head with one hand, fingers tangled in the soft locks, while the other rested on Gabe’s chest. “Oh Gabe, what have you become, my love?” he asked, saddened at how empty Gabriel’s life seemed. Gabriel pressed into the hand on his head, his lips parting, his eyes opening to a slit. “Sammy…” 

Sam swallowed hard. Shit! He was waking up. In the blink of an eye, Sam was once again a cat. Not a moment too soon, because Gabriel opened his eyes more and looked straight into Sam’s. Sam could almost taste the breath Gabriel let out. “Sam?” The golden eyes were sleepy and confused. Sam meowed his answer of ‘yes?’ softly against Gabriel’s lips. “Mowwwrr?” Within a few blinks, the confusion was gone and mirth made those beloved eyes sparkle. “Oh, Sir Samuel…Did I worry you, silly kitty? I’m sorry.” Relieved, Sam rubbed his head against Gabe and walked off. Maybe this could work…

It took all Sam had to stay calm and not jump at the very next opportunity to be human again. If he were to do this too much, Gabriel would get suspicious. So, Sam sat on his furry butt and held on for three more days. That night, he shifted and talked to his love as Gabriel was sleeping. The sudden movement under him had him shift fast and with little control. He ended up with a sore butt and a sincere dent in his ego. But then Gabe sat next to him and stroked his fur so tenderly, Sam had to keep his face hidden and his powers under control or he’d shift and kiss Gabe, and how would that go over? He was so concentrated on staying the same shape, that he barely heard what Gabriel said. When he finally had a grip on his shape, he picked up what Gabe was saying. He… he used to have a crush on Sam? He was afraid Sam would break his heart? That meant Gabriel loved Sam? Oh, that idiot! Sam’s heart sang and he curled himself around Gabe. 

oooOooo

The soft purrs of Sir Samuel calmed Gabriel down a bit. Geez, he was a dumbass. Sam was out of his life and it wasn’t as if he was going to just waltz back in. “Ok. Enough moping about things I can’t change. Let me get dressed, kitty cat.” He shooed Samuel off. The cat glared at him, but somehow it didn’t carry much heat. He smiled and turned to his closet. “Ugh. I gave a meeting today… Ugly sweater vest it is.” He noticed Sir Samuel pad around to the bedside cabinet and carefully place a paw on the old iPod that lay there. Gabriel chuckled. “Gonna find me some tunes, huh Samuel? Place it in the dock, or I won’t hear them.” Still chuckling, Gabriel grabbed some socks and a pair of silk boxers. He was about to leave the room when the iPod dock came to life.

_If I turn into another_

_Dig me up from under what is covering_

_The better part of me_

_Sing this song_

_Remind me that we'll always have each other_

_When everything else is gone._

Stunned, Gabriel turned around. His multi-coloured eyes fixed on Gabriel’s, Sir Samuel jumped smoothly from the cabinet and sauntered right up to him. Gabriel swallowed hard. "I'm assuming... I'm going to assume you didn't mean to do that."

In a whisper of rushing air, he was being crowded by 6’4” of warm, sweet smelling man, with the same eye- and hair colour. “You assume too much, Gabe. You always have,” the guy whispered in a voice smooth as honey and warm as whiskey. Gabriel blinked as warm, sweet lips landed on his. He moaned and his eyes closed. Too soon those delicious lips detached themselves. “Sam?” he whispered. “Hey, Gabe,” Sam softly answered. “Ready to stop running?” 


End file.
